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Posts Tagged ‘NPR’

Day 109 – Alex S.

Posted in Something for others, tagged , , , , , , on April 12, 2010| 11 Comments »

So this morning I heard the NPR story by Liane Hansen…it was great!  If you missed it, check it out here.

So I was walking around my neighborhood one night looking for someone to give my $10 to.  People often ask me how I choose the recipients.  There really isn’t any scientific method, but more of an instinctive gut reaction that I have.  Something about the person makes them interesting to me.  Maybe they are dressed in an interesting way, maybe a pan-handler says something clever, or perhaps it’s just a nice bus driver.  

Alex is sitting in a small park on a bench reading a book at about 9:00pm.  The dim light from a nearby street lamp is just enough for him to read his book: Negotiating Across Culture by Raymond Cohen. 

Alex is dressed in a suit sans tie.  He looks comfortable and at ease with me approaching and sitting down next to him.  He is reading the textbook for his post-grad coursework at Georgetown.  In addition to his schoolwork, Alex also has a part-time job at a DC think tank.  As I explain to him my year-long commitment I learn that his birthday is December 15th (the day I started the Year of Giving).  Somehow I feel that I was meant to meet Alex.

When Alex isn’t studying, working at the think tank or taking in a night at local art galleries (that’s what he was doing this night) he gives his time.  He helps out at shelters and kitchens around DC.  He has volunteered several times at Loaves and Fishes, a ministry of St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church that has been serving lunch to the hungry and homeless on Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays since 1968.

Alex hopes to work in international development and policy in Africa.  This is no surprise given his vast international experience.  For a 24-year-old he has seen a lot of the world.  Check out the video where we talk a little about his experiences overseas.

The following is a letter that I received from Alex explaining how he used the $10.  Also, take note of the link to the study on kindness at the end…definitely worth a read.

 Hey Reed,

I was really unexpected and nice meeting you the other night. I wanted to drop you a note to say that I really think your project is fantastic. I think it’s great that you have embraced the curiosity, generosity, and faith in other people that a lot of us aspire to. I too believe that there’s so many incredible and interesting people we encounter in our daily lives that we seldom take the time to stop and appreciate. I myself wish I did it more.

So, I told you I’d write you to tell you how I’d spend my money.  Basically, 10 bucks isn’t going to change what I can afford, or what some deserving NGO in the area could do if I gave the money to them.  But, what the gesture of yours can do is change something I do, particularly stopping to appreciate the people we see in our daily lives but maybe don’t stop to acknowledge or appreciate. So, what I decided to do was spend that money on some cookie supplies, bake some cookies and give them to people we don’t too often acknowledge – the guys who hand out the WaPo Express, the people who work at the Metro stations and the cleaning people and receptionist in my building on K Street.

Oh and I also thought you’d be interested in this article I came across on the kindness multiplier. Reminds you that an act of kindness has consequences you don’t see!

Cheers and best of luck,

 Alex (109)

Thanks Alex.  What a thoughtful and creative use of the $10.  I would love to know how the people reacted!  If you haven’t already done it yet and can record it, it would be great to post here!  It was great to meet you…thanks for making this giving experience so special.

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Day 116 – Molly M.

Posted in Food & Beverage, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2010| 7 Comments »

I know what you might be thinking…Day 116?!  What happened to Days 109-115?  Did Reed take a break?  Did he forget to tell us all that he is entitled to 2 weeks of “paid” vacation…i.e. not paying others! 🙂  Nope, that’s not the case.  I am simply behind on the administrative side of my year-long experience.  But don’t worry.  To steal and modify a great Teddy Kennedy quote, the giving goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.The reason that I am posting Day 116 today is that I had the honor of sharing my giving experience today with Liane Hansen and Jack Zahora of NPR.  Many of you probably already know Liane as the host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday.  Jack is a NPR producer for the show.  They are putting a story together for this Sunday’s program, which airs from 8am to 10am on WAMU here in DC.  The show is broadcasted on more than 600 stations around the country…so check your local NPR station to see when it will be on.  Later that day the story will be posted on http://www.npr.org.

It is strange to meet someone that you have heard for years but don’t really know.  Liane didn’t disappoint…she was great.  I’m guessing she has pretty much worked every weekend for the last 20 years…would you be willing to do that? 

Anyway, so they were following me around.  I was in the Chinatown neighborhood looking for a recipient and found Molly. 

Molly (Photo: Reed)

Molly was walking her bike down 7th Street when I pulled her over to talk to me.  She seemed like she was in a bit of a hurry at first, but probably was just more skeptical of what I was doing than anything else.  It turns out that at the age of 31 Molly has returned to school to make a career change.  She is studying nutrition at the University of Maryland after having a career in marketing and communications.   

I asked her what she was doing today and she said that she had been studying and now was rewarding herself with a little shopping trip.  “Although I should probably be studying now” she said. 

She said that she was going to use the $10 to buy a couple of grande skim lattes at Starbucks.  Although she decided to use the money for herself, she sounds like a pretty dedicated giver.  She has volunteered her time teaching exercise classes to women in shelters, tutored children in coursework, helped out at So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.), helped an organization that offered tax assistance to low income individuals, etc.  Pretty impressive.  She also has an internship with DC Hunger http://www.dchunger.org/ whose mission it is to eliminate hunger in the District.

Liane Hansen interviewing Molly while Jack captures sound (Photo: Reed)

Molly was a terrific sport.  I hope that you have the opportunity to hear our interaction on the NPR segment this Sunday!

Oh, and if anybody wants to help this aspiring nutritionist, she is in dire need of a good biochemistry tutor!  Somebody help!

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Day 83 – Brad F.

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , , on March 10, 2010| 6 Comments »

I was interviewed yesterday by NPR…so make sure to listen today during the morning and afternoon news for a short report on my Year of Giving by the talented journalist Rebecca Sheir.  Click here to listen online. 

On day 83 I found myself heading over to the Caribou Coffee shop on 14th Street near Logan Circle to meet my friend David who was in the play The Foreigner with me.  On the way I ran into Ron from Day 24.  He was talkative and we chatted for a few blocks as we walked the same direction.  We walked past Bob from Day 72…he was at his usual place shooting baskets.  I would have asked him what he ended up using his $10 for but I had several things to do and was running a little behind, so I decided to follow up with him another day.

Brad (Photo: Reed)

While I was at Caribou Coffee I met Brad.  The 27-year-old was working on his computer when I met him…turns out he has a blog called A Jersey Kid…definitely worth checking out. 

Brad was born in Connecticut but grew up in New Jersey.  He moved to DC to go to George Washington University where he did both his undergraduate studies as well as law degree.  I know what you are thinking…wow, you found a lawyer in DC…what a shocker.  Well, Brad is not a lawyer. 

After graduating from law school he realized he didn’t want to practice law…so he joined an IT firm doing project management.  He also writes regularly on his blog and hopes to make writing a more integral part of his life.  For now he says, “You either do what you love, or do what allows you to do what you love.”

We spoke about all kinds of things.  If you want a good person to just discuss the interesting facets of life, you should seek out Brad and have a chat with him.

On this day he was particularly bothered by some comments made recently by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King.  She was quoted as saying, “Abortion is a racist, genocidal act.”  Brad disagreed with her using such inflammatory language.  Regardless of your views on abortion he says, a statement like this does not encourage educated debate on the subject.  I have to agree.  I wonder what the late Dr. King would have thought about his niece’s views.

I ended up getting a phone call and had to leave, so our discussion got cut short.  Brad says he will give the money to someone else.  I look forward to hearing his story about regiving the $10!

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Day 38 – Allen B.

Posted in Transportation, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2010| 9 Comments »

So today is my birthday!  I am 36 today.  No big plans…since opening night of my play is tonight.

Yesterday was another busy day filled with last minute errands for the play, resolving unemployment issues, job searching and interviewing, updating the Year of Giving, etc. 

I found myself again close to midnight and still holding on to my $10.

I dropped off a friend from the theatre and then decided to head over to the area around 14th and U Street and find someone.  I had NPR on my radio hoping to hear some more of a report that I heard earlier in the day by Laura Sullivan  on our prison systems.  I really like her journalistic style.  When you hear one of her reports you feel like you are there with her.  Maybe I can get her to check out my blog and give me some tips on writing 🙂

It was raining and I thought I would find a place indoors to give away the $10.  I found myself in front of Bus Boys and Poets, a hip urban joint that I have frequented a few times.  It was open and there was a parking space out front. 

The place is pretty cool.  It is part book store, part coffee-house, part restaurant, part bar, part… meeting place.  I think the poet for which it is named, Langston Hughes, would be proud of the place.  My eyes scanned the bar and saw two young women working on a computer together, a female bartender wiping down the liquor bottles, and a guy who looked like he could line up against the Steelers’ James Harrison and hold his own.  Hmm…I could easily go chat with the girls, but I am more intrigued by the linebacker-like individual.  I mean what’s the worse that could happen?  He could crush me with his forearm?

Allen turns out to be a soft-spoken guy.  He does love his football though.  He stammers a little as he tells me that he is a Redskins fan.  There is that look that a sports fan gives you when they open up and tell you that they love a losing team.  You have to respect that.  That doesn’t happen much in other areas.  I mean you never find someone saying, “I love that mutual fund that is losing me lots of money” or “Even though Dr. Wilson has killed many of his patients, I still love’em!”  Sports is different.  A fan is a fan is a fan, it doesn’t matter what their record is, they are still going to show up and cheer them on.

The 22-year-old from Montgomery County, MD was in DC to film a band.  You can see some of his video work on YouTube searching for abseven4.  I asked him what he was going to do with the money and he said he was going to put it toward gasoline.  Allen will be using quite a bit of gas as he plans to go back to college.  He has about two years left to finish a Sports Management degree at Bowie State University.

Allen dropped out of school a couple years ago but after struggling for a couple years he realized he really wanted to go back to school and get his degree.  He may be starting as soon as Monday, but that depends largely on the financial aid he hopes to receive.  If he doesn’t have everything he needs, then he will have to wait until the fall semester most likely.  I hope he finishes his degree.  It will be an amazing gift for him.

I chat a little more with Allen and realize that I need to get home and get to bed.  When I walked in the door, I discovered my place was cleaned up and there was birthday gift from Daniela waiting on the counter.  Thank you!  That was so nice.

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